which side is top side for worm shaft bearing 2333-65 when reassembling to wormshaft part 2333-44

You are correct, the corner notch is always up. If you don't have those markers, the ball bearing sits closer to the bottom. Since you've gone this far, if you can't figure out the orientation, just get good replacement 2333-65 bearings properly notched and avoid the headache.

I noticed the same slight difference in height. Nice to work with a pro. Again- bmoran4 comes thru.

Thanks!

Hi- This shows the results of getting help thru the forum from bmoran4 and others- plus a lot of hours of work. I was really stuck on a couple of things putting everything back together properly for optimum performance. Preservation is the best part of the hobby IMHO. They "live" to play again for many years to come. Still gives me a buzz to see them go down the track under power. So- a quick recap and a few pictures to enjoy.

The 2343 AA was a complete tear down/fixup. The 2343 got a gentle clean/polish keeping the original finish of the cab intact, new window ports, clean and polish the horns/window insert, complete tear down to the frame ( for strip/repainting and also the truck sides), go thru the motors, trucks and tune + check all the electrical. Reassemble and put on the layout. I have done many F3's over the years- this thing is a stallion and has very aggressive pulling power (more weight because of the battery/horn setup in the power unit). Probably the best now of any I run. Kicks in @ 11-12 volts instead of the usual startup at 16 volts. This "senior citizen" is amazing @ 70 years of age.

The 2353 AA was done the same way. Was able to keep all the original window ports.

The Lionel 2343 Santa Fe is arguably the most collectable & desirable of any train ever made.  In very good condition it is still the "gold standard" by which all others are compared to.. I find it interesting that it has been cloned over and over (the cab, trim and proportions) by other manufactures- even MTH final runs of F units (Railking) the postwar style body was chosen..out of all the other possible choices for a cab.

Enough said. Some pictures to enjoy.

Glad the bearins were figured out for you and yes the 2343 engines are great for pulling.

Bought a pair long ago beat up for 100, the shells are shot so painted kids names on them as they were toddlers back then and they still run as good as the excellent aba pair stashed away bought before the beat up pair.